Ep. 011: Bigwig w/ Tom Petta

Welcome everyone to This Was The Scene, the podcast that takes a look back at the late 90s / early 2000 Nj Jersey Punk scene, I am your host, Mike Doyle.

Bigwig is a punk rock band from New Jersey, who formed in 1995. Their original lineup back in the late 90s composed of Josh, John, Dan who was later replaced by Matt and Tom.

The line up since then has seen members come and go but the one thing that has stayed consistent is Tom Petta heading up the band. When I first saw these guys play I was floored. They’d take the stage or floor of a legion hall and the place would blow the fuck up. They just brought this raw energy and it everyone in the crowd would give it right back to them. After seeing them live I decided to never step on a stage and play in front of a crowd unless I was going to authentically give it all that I had.

Songs like Flavor Ice, Drunken Night, and 1 800 whipped were the soundtrack to my friends and my summer back in 1997. They were one of the few bands back then that showed all of the other bands that Yes it is possible to go on tour and actually make this your life and I thank them for this.

After many attempts to coordinate our schedules, I was finally able to get Tom on the phone for this interview and this is what we talk about:

• Why being scared by a band’s sound was intriguing to him
• What album made him want to start a band
• When he broke out on his own to create Bigwig
• How he got the dreads
• who did most of the booking to get bigwig out on the road
• Roger from less than Jake going nuts for them at warped tour
• If they actually had 2 minivans for touring
• how they got on Fearless
• Where unmerry melodies was recorded
• Why newer bands probably don’t make it
• how he comes up with songs
• What’s up with Canada
• His call with Chris from Propagandhidi
• And a ton more

Before we being, Here are a few things to note:

If you are looking to get shirts or apparel printed up for your band or small business then check out my buddy Casey Lee Morgan’s company SSV Printing. They are based out of  Bloomingdale NJ. have been printing shirts and apparel for many years. Casey would absolutely love to print for you. Hit him up at [email protected].  Mention this podcast for some extra special love.

Side note, he will be printing the shirts for our Lanemeyer reunion show on July 21 at Debonair Music hall in Teaneck NJ. We will be sharing the stage with our buddies Humble Beginnings and Jettison. Pre-sale tickets are currently available for $15 and then $20 at the door. We’ve already sold a ton so make sure you get in on the action before it sells out. Next week I will have some more news about potential vinyl…

Thank you again to the people who’ve donated to the podcast. If you’d like to do so just go to thiswasthescene.com and send whatever you’d like. It helps me with the $20/month to keep this thing live.

You can find tickets thiswasthescene.com or in the show notes.